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Politicians Pledge Allegiance to the Corporate State of America

Yesterday’s Senate debacle over background checks for guns was the latest in a series of evidences: Government by the people has been derailed by corporate groups and their money. The majority of lawmakers in Washington, as well as our state government, don’t give a tinker’s damn about the American people’s opinions, needs or wants.

We are no longer in a country where majority opinion rules.

90% of Americans wanted the background checks, but forty-six Senators voted directly AGAINST their constituents' wishes. How is that government by the people? It’s not. It’s governance by the NRA instead.

Beginning with the Reagan years, the business of government has evolved into money and power over people. If you don’t believe that money and power had something to do with yesterday’s moral failure, then take a look at the $7,448,189 that NRA spent on political influence:http://tinyurl.com/bytcqqa

In advance of the bill, Senator Ted Cruz was ginning up the fear card, insisting that legislation would lead to a federal gun registry; then he backtracks. And poor little Cruz mascot, John Cornyn, plays along as a less-than-believable supporting actor, following Calgary Ted’s lead because he doesn’t want to appear less conservative than Senator Cruz. The result of Cruz’ fear-mongering and dramatic oratory in advance of the battle? He was featured by nearly all the rabid Far Right media.

Cruz was in the spotlight again; something he craves. His unbridled need for attention and admiration frightens me. Dear Ted: A dung-flinging monkey at the zoo attracts a lot of attention, but not because anyone admires the performance.

And it’s not just the gun bill; there are other issues as well. An April 3rd Maris survey, http://tinyurl.com/cfdjdpe , shows that Americans, by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, want Congress to make job creation their top priority (64 percent) instead of deficit reduction (33 percent).

So, what do they concentrate on? The deficit, of course! And the President angers his loyal base by proposing reductions in Social Security as a bargaining chip, even though it has nothing to do with the deficit. Many Democrats went blindly along with this, proving that the entire constituency, regardless of party, is moving further and further right. It’s moved me, however, out of the Moderate territory into the angry Far Left territory, and my anger grows each day.

Do you need more examples? Americans are against Keystone, Monsanto (Senator Roy Blunt actually worked with Monsanto to craft the bill AND he received monetary rewards for it), the Trans Pacific Partnership (which will lead to corporations being considered nation states and immune to prosecution) and what happens? Full speed ahead, of course!

The disregard of voter’s opinions is apparent in Texas as well. Most Texans, including medical associations, city governments and economic development groups want Medicaid expansion. Our Governor and our two Senators won’t hear of it.

Even though Texas voters and the Legislature are against vouchers in any form, Senators Patrick and Campbell were at it again, even after their bills were defeated the preceding week. What part of no do they not understand?

If there is a single person who doubts the wholesale corruption of American politics via corporate bribery, they must be a child or an idiot. When the 1978 Belotti decision opened the door for Citizens United, it was the first indication of a growing cancer in our nation and we’ve done nothing to excise the tumor.

Money has its own persuasive language. It greases the wheels of justice. It’s a bulldozer that creates a road to that which was previously impassable. With the promise of money, miracles happen.

Now we have a corporate SCOTUS, a corporate Congress, and a corporate Executive branch.

I anticipate the Immigration Bill with dread. I can guarantee it will not serve the people or the immigrants involved; it will serve the corporateurs. They demand cheaper and cheaper labor, moving closer and closer to legalized, state-sanctioned slavery. It’s become routine to grant their wishes, regardless of what the American people want.

How much is enough? Where is the breaking point? Where is the outrage? More importantly, where is the action? At some point, Americans must stop hitting the snooze button and wake up to reality.

If and when that happens, it will be neither pretty nor rational.

Refusing to vote doesn’t work, but it appears that voting for yet another corporate clone doesn’t work either. The candidates we have are default choices, so we compromise. We ask ourselves, “Which candidate will do the least damage?” Imploring for SCOTUS to intervene doesn’t work. Calling and writing lawmakers is a waste of time. I’ve done it for two hours every morning for three years with minimal results. Being a whistleblower or telling uncomfortable truths about your government doesn’t work. You’ll be jailed without charges or a trial. Occupy doesn’t work. Protesting doesn’t work.

Carol Morgan is a career counselor, writer, speaker, former Democratic candidate for the Texas House and the award-winning author of Of Tapestry, Time and Tears, a historical fiction about the 1947 Partition of India. Follow her on Twitter @CounselorCarol1, on Facebook: CarolMorgan1 and her writer’s blog at www.carolmorgan.org